1981 Los Angeles Dodgers season

1981 Los Angeles Dodgers
World Series Champions National League Champions NL West champions
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1890)
Western Division (since 1969)
Location
Dodger Stadium (since 1962)
Los Angeles (since 1958)
Other information
Owner(s)	Peter O'Malley
General manager(s)	Al Campanis
Manager(s)	Tommy Lasorda
Local television	KTTV (11) (Vin Scully, Jerry Doggett, Ross Porter) ONTV (Geoff Witcher, Al Downing)
Local radio	KABC (Vin Scully, Jerry Doggett, Ross Porter) KTNQ (Jaime Jarrín, Rudy Hoyos)
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The 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers season got off to a strong start when rookie pitcher Fernando Valenzuela pitched a shutout on opening day, starting the craze that came to be known as "Fernandomania." Fernando went on to win both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards.

The season was divided into two halves because of a players strike in mid-season. The Dodgers won the Western Division of the National League in the first half and advanced to the playoffs. They beat the Houston Astros in a divisional playoff and the Montreal Expos in the National League Championship Series before beating the New York Yankees to win the World Series.

Offseason

• March 30, 1981: Acquired Ken Landreaux^[1] from the Minnesota Twins for Mickey Hatcher and Matt Reeves

Regular season

Season standings

NL West	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Cincinnati Reds	66	42	0.611	—	32–22	34–20
Los Angeles Dodgers	63	47	0.573	4	33–23	30–24
Houston Astros	61	49	0.555	6	31–20	30–29
San Francisco Giants	56	55	0.505	11½	29–24	27–31
Atlanta Braves	50	56	0.472	15	22–27	28–29
San Diego Padres	41	69	0.373	26	20–35	21–34

Record vs. opponents

1981 National League Records Sources:
Team	ATL	CHC	CIN	HOU	LAD	MON	NYM	PHI	PIT	SD	SF	STL
Atlanta	—	3–2–1	6–5	4–8	7–7	3–7	3–3	4–5	2–3	9–6	5–7	4–3
Chicago	2–3–1	—	1–5	1–6	6–4	4–7	5–8–1	2–10	4–10	3–3	5–5	5–4–1
Cincinnati	5–6	5–1	—	8–4	8–8	5–4	7–3	5–2	4–2	10–2	9–5	0–5
Houston	8–4	6–1	4–8	—	4–8	5–2	6–3	4–6	2–4	11–3	9–6	2–4
Los Angeles	7–7	4–6	8–8	8–4	—	5–2	5–1	3–3	5–1	6–5	7–5	5–5
Montreal	7–3	7–4	4–5	2–5	2–5	—	9–3	7–4	10–3	4–2	2–5	6–9
New York	3–3	8–5–1	3–7	3–6	1–5	3–9	—	7–7	3–6–1	2–5	2–4	6–5
Philadelphia	5-4	10–2	2–5	6–4	3–3	4–7	7–7	—	7–5	4–2	4–3	7–6
Pittsburgh	3–2	10–4	2–4	4–2	1–5	3–10	6–3–1	5–7	—	6–4	3–7	3–8
San Diego	6–9	3–3	2–10	3–11	5–6	2–4	5–2	2–4	4–6	—	6–7	3–7
San Francisco	7–5	5–5	5–9	6–9	5–7	5–2	4–2	3–4	7–3	7–6	—	2–3
St. Louis	3–4	4–5–1	5–0	4–2	5–5	9–6	5–6	6–7	8–3	7–3	3–2	—

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Starters
Name	Position
Davey Lopes	Second baseman
Ken Landreaux	Center fielder
Dusty Baker	Left fielder
Steve Garvey	First baseman
Ron Cey	Third baseman
Pedro Guerrero	Right fielder
Mike Scioscia	Catcher
Bill Russell	Shortstop
Fernando Valenzuela	Starting pitcher

Roster

1981 Los Angeles Dodgers
Roster
Pitchers 37 Bobby Castillo 51 Terry Forster 38 Dave Goltz 46 Burt Hooton 57 Steve Howe 49 Tom Niedenfuer 26 Alejandro Peña 25 Ted Power 41 Jerry Reuss 48 Dave Stewart 43 Rick Sutcliffe 34 Fernando Valenzuela 35 Bob Welch		Catchers  9 Jerry Grote 14 Mike Scioscia  7 Steve Yeager Infielders 10 Ron Cey 36 Pepe Frías  6 Steve Garvey 15 Davey Lopes  5 Mike Marshall 45 Jack Perconte 18 Bill Russell 52 Steve Sax  8 Reggie Smith 30 Derrel Thomas  1 Gary Weiss		Outfielders 12 Dusty Baker 22 Mark Bradley 13 Joe Ferguson 28 Pedro Guerrero 21 Jay Johnstone 44 Ken Landreaux 47 Candy Maldonado 17 Bobby Mitchell 16 Rick Monday 50 Ron Roenicke		Manager  2 Tommy Lasorda Coaches 54 Monty Basgall 58 Mark Cresse 11 Manny Mota 33 Danny Ozark 29 Ron Perranoski

Notable transactions

• April 17, 1981: Don Stanhouse was released by the Los Angeles Dodgers.^[2]

Starting Pitchers stats

Name	G	GS	IP	ERA	W/L	BB	SO	CG
Fernando Valenzuela	25	25	192.3	2.48	13-7	61	180	11
Burt Hooton	23	23	142.3	2.28	11-6	33	74	5
Bob Welch	23	23	141.3	3.44	9-5	41	88	2
Jerry Reuss	22	22	152.7	2.30	10-4	27	51	8

Relief Pitchers stats

Name	G	GS	IP	ERA	W/L	BB	SO	SV
Steve Howe	41	0	54.0	2.50	5-3	18	32	8
Bobby Castillo	34	1	50.7	5.33	2-4	18	32	5
Dave Stewart	32	0	43.3	2.49	4-3	14	29	6
Terry Forster	21	0	30.7	4.11	0-1	15	17	0
Dave Goltz	26	8	77.0	4.09	2-7	25	48	1
Rick Sutcliffe	14	6	47.0	4.02	2-2	20	16	0
Tom Niedenfuer	17	0	26.0	3.81	3-1	6	12	2
Alejandro Peña	14	0	25.3	2.84	1-1	11	14	2
Ted Power	5	2	14.3	3.14	1-3	7	7	0

Batting Stats

Name	Pos	G	AB	Avg.	R	H	HR	RBI	SB
Mike Scioscia	C	93	290	.276	27	80	2	29	0
Steve Yeager	C	42	86	.209	5	18	3	7	0
Jerry Grote	C	2	2	.000	0	0	0	0	0
Steve Garvey	1B	110	431	.283	63	122	10	64	3
Davey Lopes	2B	58	214	.289	35	44	5	17	20
Bill Russell	SS	82	262	.233	20	61	0	22	2
Ron Cey	3B	85	312	.288	42	90	13	50	0
Derrel Thomas	2B/3B/SS/OF	80	218	.248	25	54	4	24	7
Steve Sax	2B	31	119	.277	15	33	2	9	5
Pepe Frías	SS/2B/3B	25	36	.250	6	9	0	3	0
Reggie Smith	1B	41	35	.200	5	7	1	8	0
Mike Marshall	1B/3B/OF	14	25	.200	2	5	0	1	0
Gary Weiss	SS	14	19	.105	2	2	0	1	0
Jack Perconte	2B	8	9	.222	2	2	0	1	1
Dusty Baker	OF	103	400	.320	48	128	9	49	10
Pedro Guerrero	OF/3B/1B	98	347	.300	46	104	12	48	5
Ken Landreaux	OF	99	390	.251	48	98	7	41	18
Rick Monday	OF	66	130	.315	24	41	11	25	1
Jay Johnstone	OF/1B	61	83	.205	8	17	3	6	0
Ron Roenicke	OF	22	47	.234	6	11	0	0	1
Joe Ferguson	OF	17	14	.143	2	2	0	1	0
Candy Maldonado	OF	11	12	.093	0	1	0	0	0
Bobby Mitchell	OF	10	5	.125	0	1	0	0	0
Mark Bradley	OF	9	6	.167	2	1	0	0	0

Postseason

1981 National League Division Series

In the divisional series, the Dodgers fell behind the Houston Astros two games to zero but came back to win the next three games to take the series and advance to the LCS.

Game 1

October 6, The Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	0
Houston	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	3	8	0
W: Nolan Ryan (1-0)  L: Dave Stewart (0-1)
HRs: LA – Steve Garvey (1)  HOU – Alan Ashby (1)

Game 2

October 7, The Astrodome, Houston, Texas

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	1
Houston	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	9	0
W: Joe Sambito (1-0)  L: Dave Stewart (0-2)
HRs: LA – none   HOU – none

Game 3

October 9, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	2
Los Angeles	3	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	X	6	10	0
W: Burt Hooton (1-0)  L: Bob Knepper (0-1)
HRs: HOU – Art Howe (1)  LA – Steve Garvey (2)

Game 4

October 10, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	4	0
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	X	2	4	0
W: Fernando Valenzuela (1-0)  L: Vern Ruhle (0-1)
HRs: HOU – none  LA – Pedro Guerrero (1)

Game 5

October 11, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	3
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	X	4	7	2
W: Jerry Reuss (1-0)  L: Nolan Ryan (1-1)
HRs: HOU – none  LA – none

1981 National League Championship Series

The Dodgers faced the Montreal Expos in the 1981 NLCS and beat them three games to two, thanks to a ninth-inning home run by Rick Monday in Game 5.

Game 1

October 13, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Montreal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	9	0
Los Angeles	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	X	5	8	0
W: Burt Hooton (1-0)  L: Bill Gullickson (0-1)
HRs: MON – None  LAD – Pedro Guerrero (1), Mike Scioscia (1)
Pitchers: MON – Gullickson, Reardon (8)  LAD – Hooton, Welch (8), Howe (9)
Attendance: 51,273

Game 2

October 14, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Montreal	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	10	1
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	1
W: Ray Burris (1-0)  L: Fernando Valenzuela (0-1)
HRs: MON – None  LAD – None
Pitchers: MON – Burris  LAD – Valenzuela, Niedenfuer (7), Forster (7), Pena (7), Castillo (9)
Attendance: 53,463

Game 3

October 16, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
Montreal	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	X	4	7	1
W: Steve Rogers (1-0)  L: Jerry Reuss (0-1)
HRs: LAD – None  MON – Jerry White (1)
Pitchers: LAD – Reuss, Pena (8)  MON – Rogers
Attendance: 54,372

Game 4

October 17, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	4	7	12	1
Montreal	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	1
W: Burt Hooton (2-0)  L: Bill Gullickson (0-2)
HRs: LAD – Steve Garvey (1)  MON – None
Pitchers: LAD – Hooton, Welch (8), Howe (9)  MON – Gullickson, Fryman (8), Sosa (9), Lee (9)
Attendance: 54,499

Game 5

October 19, Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Quebec

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	6	0
Montreal	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	1
W: Fernando Valenzuela (1-1)  L: Steve Rogers (1-1)  SV: Bob Welch (1)
HRs: LAD – Rick Monday (1)  MON – None
Pitchers: LAD – Valenzuela, Welch (9)  MON – Burris, Rogers (9)
Attendance: 36,491

1981 World Series

The Dodgers met the New York Yankees in the World Series once again, this time beating them in six games to claim their first championship since 1965.

Game 1

October 20, Yankee Stadium, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	3	5	0
New York	3	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	X	5	6	0
W: Ron Guidry (1-0)  L: Jerry Reuss (0-1)  SV: Goose Gossage (1)
HRs: LAD – Steve Yeager (1)  NY – Bob Watson (1)

Game 2

October 21, Yankee Stadium, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	2
New York	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	X	3	6	1
W: Tommy John (1-0)  L: Burt Hooton (0-1)  SV: Goose Gossage (2)
HRs: LAD – none  NY – none

Game 3

October 23, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	9	0
Los Angeles	3	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	X	5	11	1
W: Fernando Valenzuela (1-0)  L: George Frazier (0-1)  SV: none)
HRs: NY – Rick Cerone (1), Bob Watson (2)  LA – Ron Cey (1)

Game 4

October 24, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	1	1	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	7	13	1
Los Angeles	0	0	2	0	1	3	2	0	X	8	14	2
W: Steve Howe (1-0)  L: George Frazier (0-2)  SV: none)
HRs: NY – Willie Randolph (1), Reggie Jackson (1)  LA – Jay Johnstone (1)

Game 5

October 25, Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
New York	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	0
Los Angeles	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	X	2	4	3
W: Jerry Reuss (1-1)  L: Ron Guidry (1-1)  SV: none
HRs: NY – none   LA – Pedro Guerrero (1), Steve Yeager (2)

Game 6

October 28, Yankee Stadium, New York

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Los Angeles	0	0	0	1	3	4	0	1	0	9	13	1
New York	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	7	2
W: Burt Hooton (1-1)  L: George Frazier (0-3)  SV: Steve Howe (1)
HRs: LAD – Pedro Guerrero (2)   NY – Willie Randolph (2)

1981 Awards

Farm system

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Albuquerque Dukes	Pacific Coast League	Del Crandall
AA	San Antonio Dodgers	Texas League	Don LeJohn
High A	Lodi Dodgers	California League	Terry Collins
High A	Vero Beach Dodgers	Florida State League	Stan Wasiak
Rookie	Lethbridge Dodgers	Pioneer League	Gary LaRocque

Teams in BOLD won League Championships

Major League Baseball Draft

The Dodgers drafted 33 players in the June draft and 18 in the January draft. Of those, eight players would eventually play in the Major Leagues. They received an extra pick in the 2nd round from the Houston Astros as compensation for the loss of free agent pitcher Don Sutton.

The Dodgers first round pick in the June draft was shortstop Dave Anderson from the University of Memphis. He played 10 seasons in the Majors (8 of them with the Dodgers), primarily as a utility infielder. The draft also included pitchers Sid Fernandez (round 3) and John Franco (round 5), both of whom would have lengthy Major League careers primarily with the New York Mets after the Dodgers traded them.

1981 Draft Picks

January draft [3] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Kelvin White RHP Cosumnes River College No 2 Robert Seymour OF Sacramento City College Yes 1981–1982 A 3 Frederick Bass 3B Sacramento City College Yes 1981 A 4 John Sylvia SS College of the Sequoias Yes 1981–1982 A 5 Jack Loop 1B Pasadena City College No 6 Eugene Steinbach C Georgia Perimeter College Yes 1981–1994 AA 7 Brad Harlow SS Cosumnes River College No 8 Brett Radland RHP Valencia Community College No 9 Jon Van Dort OF Chaffey College No 10 Larry Riddle RHP Alvin Community College No Red Sox-1984 1984 A 11 Andy Hargrove RHP Barstow Community College No 12 James Sewell OF Sacramento City College No 13 Ronnie Chapman 2B Louisburg College No Blue Jays-1982 1982–1986 AA 14 James Woods IF San Jacinto College No 15 Charles Byers 3B Chaffey College No 16 Benny Distefano 1B Alvin Community College No Pirates-1982 1982–1993 MLB January Secondary phase [4] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Shayne Hammond LHP Southeastern Illinois College Yes 1981–1983 AA 2 Tom DiCeglio SS Gulf Coast Community College No Twins-1984 1984–1986 A June draft [5] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Dave Anderson SS University of Memphis Yes 1981–1992 MLB 2 Sid Bream 1B Liberty University Yes 1981–1994 MLB 2 Lemmie Miller OF Arizona State University Yes 1981–1989 MLB 3 Sid Fernandez LHP Kaiser High School No Angels-1984 1981–2001 MLB 4 Steven Boncore C University of La Verne Yes 1981–1983 A 5 John Franco LHP St. John's University Yes 1981–2005 MLB 6 Brian Williams OF South High School Yes 1981–1986 A 7 Michael Beuder LHP Santa Clara University Yes 1981–1983 A 8 Gregory Chinn OF California State University, Sacramento Yes 1981–1983 A 9 Stu Pederson OF University of Southern California Yes 1981–1992 MLB 10 Mark Pirruccello C California State University, Fullerton No Royals-1982 1982–1984 AA 11 Gregory Carne RHP Redondo High School Yes 1981–1984 A 12 Peyton Mosher RHP University of Georgia Yes 1981–1984 A 13 David Anderson RHP University of Nevada, Reno Yes 1982–1990 AAA 14 Dean Rennicke RHP University of Wisconsin–Madison Yes 1981–1985 AAA 15 Jimmy Guillen RHP Roosevelt High School No 16 Harold Perkins SS California State University, Los Angeles Yes 1981–1991 AAA 17 Christopher Chavez SS University of Nebraska at Lincoln Yes 1981–1982 AA 18 Jerry Bendorf SS Gonzaga University Yes 1981–1982 AA 19 Jeffrey Greene SS University of Vermont Yes 1981 Rookie 20 Tim Criswell RHP Carrollton High School No Dodgers-1983 1983–1987 AA 21 John Gregory 1B Lake Worth High School Yes 1981–1984 A 22 Craig Thompson OF Dallas Baptist University Yes 1981–1982 A 23 William Murray 2B University of San Francisco Yes 1981 A 24 Steven Young OF Chambersburg High School Yes 1981 Rookie 25 Robert Philps RHP Carmichaels High School No 26 Charles Beard RHP California State University, Sacramento Yes 1981–1983 A 27 David Dunlap IF California State University, Sacramento No 28 Brett Davis OF Pearland High School No 29 Jeff Carter IF Evanston Township High School No Giants-1985 1985–1996 AAA 30 Ronald Robbins RHP Louisiana State University at Alexandria No Blue Jays-1983 1983–1984 A June secondary phase [6] Round Name Position School Signed Career span Highest level 1 Ralph Bryant OF Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Yes 1981–1996 MLB 2 Michael Moore C Edmonds Community College Yes 1981–1982 A 3 Ethan McHenry RHP Yakima Valley Community College No

Notes

References

• Baseball-Reference season page
• Baseball Almanac season page

External links

• 1981 Los Angeles Dodgers uniform
• Los Angeles Dodgers official web site